To thine own self be true
by Divinitas Intereo
Summary: Dudley Dursley hasn't been in the room at the end of the hall in over twenty years. However, a single letter shattered his desire to never return to #4 Privet Dr. "Dear Mr. Dursley, we are pleased to announce that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry..."
**Hello Harry Potter fandom! My name is Divinitas Intereo and this is my first exploit into writing fanfiction for the Harry Potter universe. I've always been a big fan, but never had an idea for a story in this universe until now. Although this was an interesting one for me to write, just due to the fact that I broke so many personal writing rules writing it. It was a thought experiment of sorts, and I do hope that you folks enjoy it!**

 **Let's see, I've never done a story dedication before, but since she was the one who actually kind of talked me into doing this, i'm going to dedicate this story to an awesome from of mine who we'll just call Elayne. ;)**

 **This one is for you. I hope you and your Rand find a life filled with that rare bit of magic called love, and with more than the occasional adventure as the two of you are setting out to embark on that whirlwind called marriage. And always remember the words of the much wiser than I Albus Dumbledore, "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of places, if one only remembers to turn on the light." I wish you all the best.**

* * *

Dudley Dursley hadn't been in the room at the end of the hall in twenty years; to tell the truth he hadn't returned to #4 Privet Dr. since the day he and his family had last seen his cousin right before his 17th birthday. The boy with the lightning shaped scar had been a mark of embarrassment on the Dursley's, or so his father had led him to believe.

Looking around at the old newspapers scattered around the room, and books left as if in a hurry, Dudley picked one up and brushed off the dust. "YOU-KNOW-WHO RETURNS! POTTER VINDICATED." Letting the paper drop back to the ground, Dudley sat at the desk in the room, the chair squeaking with the first weight put on it in years. From his back pocket his pulled a letter that was all too familiar to him…Letters similar to it had once, quite literally, filled his house to capacity; and it was addressed to his son.

Leaning over the chair and putting his head in his hands, Dudley sighed into the air in the room, really taking in the enormity of the situation. Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs, and with each step, his personal embarrassment grew. He knew what she would see: the bolt locks, cat door, and black bars over the window each a personal mark of shame. Nevertheless, he looked up as honey blonde tresses peaked around the hall and the woman that they belonged to finally came into view. He watched her face as she took in everything she was seeing, internally begging her not to hate him with every step she took. For a small reassurance, Dudley could only look at the ring on her left hand and hope.

She cautiously entered the room at the end of the hall, her eyes taking everything in at once, the look of concern on her face over the room was evident…he wondered how much more that look would grow if she ever noticed the lock on the cupboard under the stairs… Kneeling down in front of him, he felt her hand brush his hair, and lightly suggest that he look at her. Blue eyes met hazel, pleading with his wife to somehow understand.

"So this is where.."

"Yeah."

Her voice had broken the silence, and he didn't think he could handle it if she finished the entirety of the question. Breathing in deep, even wit the dust, Dudley latched onto her hand and gave it a light squeeze. Standing up from the chair, he pulled his wife up from the floor and they both looked at the room together.

"Would it help if I told you that I honestly didn't know any better?"

The letter still held in his other hand was the only thing that had been brought into this room in the past twenty years that felt like it belonged, Kara turned to look at him, and her eyes couldn't confirm or deny how she felt at the moment. Kara had always been an issue with his parents, especially with his father, Vernon had refused to meet her, and at the end of his life, he had still refused, Dudley inheriting #4 Privet Dr. had been the notification, and still it had taken three years for him to build up the courage to come here, even though he'd already known… there was a reason beyond the dislike of Kara that Dudley had not been to see his mother in over five years.

"Do you want to go back downstairs?" Her nod was all he needed for him to lead her out of the room, leaving the door open as they left. Walking through this house again had been surreal, almost like stepping into a dream—one where he had been the nightmare and a little boy had been the subject of his torture.

In the twenty years since the last time that Dudley had walked the home at Privet Dr. a lot had changed for him. The day that his family had left his cousin by himself, fleeing for their own safety with the witch and wizard Hestia and Diggle was the beginning of something different for Dudley. After they had left here and been…apparated? After that, the Dursley's had spent a significant amount of time around two adults from his lot, although his father always acted like they were never around, and his mother took after his lead, Dudley couldn't help but be curious. After all, from the way his cousin had acted then, it had looked like he would never see him again.

That had proved to be much the case. Over the next couple of months, the world was weird, and although he had never managed to have the courage to actually speak to Hestia or Diggle, Dudley had watched them. Watched them until one day Diggle had come screaming through the safe house, "HE'S WON! POTTER HAS DONE IT! YOU-KNOW-WHO IS NO MORE!" Much celebration was had between Hestia and Diggle that day, although all that happened on his and his family's side was that they stared at the two of them in stark curiosity and disapproval. Soon after the two had offered to take them back home, but Vernon had refused to even acknowledge their offer. Since they day, Vernon had refused to acknowledge the existence of #4 Privet Dr., or the boy who had lived with their family for most of Dudley's life, although they had viewed him more of as an in house servant than a boy.

Vernon Dursley had decided from that moment on, that instead of returning to the address that they would never speak of again, that the Dursleys would go and live with his sister Margery, who's ailing health required that someone live in with her anyways. Petunia hadn't had a problem with it, and Dudley barely had a choice in the matter—although it was probably the decision that changed his life for the better. The influence of the neighborhood kids who he'd grown up around was no longer there, and so the persona of "Big D" that he'd developed around that lot of miscreants had been allowed to stay behind in Surrey. Dudley, after seventeen years, was being given a new lease…one he had been attempting to find a way to make up for since he was fifteen, but just had no way to go about doing it.

Kara tugging at his arm brought him back to the present, and the living room that the adult wizard had once wrecked was where he found himself. None of the furniture they had at one point had still occupied the place, but Dudley could remember the way the place looked back when he lived here with his parents. Memories for him flooded the place—and through it all intertwined the images of a young ten year old boy serving breakfast, cleaning the floors, washing the dishes, and going to rest in the cupboard. He did his best not to let his eyes linger on that doorway.

"How long until he arrives?" Kara's voice seemed to echo in the empty room, and Dudley could only shrug in response.

"I'm not entirely sure, we agreed to meet around five…but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't show up. Kara I tortured him growing up." The guilt was heavy to bear at times, especially when he remembered the visit from the old wizard the year before they parted.

 _"Now, as you already know, the Wizard called Lord Voldemort has returned to this country. This Wizarding community is currently in an open state of warfare. Harry, whom Lord Voldemort has already attempted to kill on a number of occasions, is in even greater danger now than the day when I left him upon your doorstep fifteen years ago, with a letter explaining about his parents' murder and expressing the hope that you would care for him as though he were your own._

 _"You did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a son. He has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. The best that can be said is that he has at least escaped the appalling damage you have inflected upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you."_

 _"Us—mistreat Dudders? What d'you—?'_

 _"The magic I invoked fifteen years ago means that Harry has a powerful protection while he can still call this house home. However miserable he has been here, however unwelcome, however badly treated, you at least, grudgingly allowed him houseroom. This magic will cease to operate when Harry turns seventeen; in other words, the moment he becomes a man. I ask only this: that you allow Harry to return once more, to this house, before his seventeenth birthday, which will ensure that the protection continues until that time."_

"Didn't you say that you tried to make it up to him the last summer the two of you spent together, that's got to count for something?" Dudley gave his wife a pointed look.

"Back then, I still didn't completely understand what I had been doing was wrong, I didn't get how warped my parents had my frame of thought. I had tried to make amends in small ways that I only knew as barely affectionate, but I don't think that I was ever able to do any good. I would leave him cups of tea at his door, and try to leave him alone as much as possible compared to the years before—but I was too confused, too afraid, and had too much borrowed hatred from mum and dad to even begin to be able to go about fixing our nonexistent relationship."

Kara's hand holding his was the only thing that kept it from running through his hair again. It was messier than it had been in his youth, actually a lot had changed from when he was younger, not just his frame of mind…hopefully his cousin would be able to see that.

"From what you've told me about him, he sounds like he was an extraordinary young man. I'd be willing to bet that the man he's become is also just as extraordinary, the only thing we can do is wait and hope that time is really a cure for all wounds. He did respond to the letter, so that's a good start, right?"

She could really put things into perspective for him, and Dudley smiled at her, giving her hand another tight squeeze, leaning on her both physically and mentally. Kara had changed his entire world. He'd met her in his first year of University and she had opened his eyes to a whole new world of thinking, one that hadn't been so black and white. Due to his personal experiences, it didn't take long for Dudley to realize what he wanted his calling to be, although he was sure that his cousin would have called it ironic in the strongest sense of the word.

Looking at his watch, the clock read five and Dudley nervously looked around the room, waiting for something to happen. Memories of green fire bursting in the fireplace invaded his mind, but the small jump he had at the doorbell being rung was almost enough to cause a mild heart attack. Looking at Kara, he started at the door in the hallway before he realized that he was frozen in place. He looked at his wife, pleading with her, silently begging her to understand everything. She gave him a warm smile and understood. Kara moved from his side towards the door, and Dudley gave a sigh of relief.

—

Harry looked at the door to #4 Privet Dr, Surrey and couldn't believe he was standing here; beside him Ginny gripped his hand momentarily.

"Not much is going to happen if you just keep staring at the door you know. I'm sure you know a couple of nonverbals that could obliterate the thing, but I'm pretty sure that isn't the impression you want to make, is it?"

Harry looked at Ginny and smiled. His loving wife knew exactly what to say to put him at ease.

"Not exactly, it just seems a little surreal. The last time I looked at this door Voldemort was still at large, you and I weren't married, and…" The names of all the lost friends and family between here and there went unspoken, although the memories of them weren't in any way forgotten. This house had always represented his prison cell, at times it was a struggle in his mind for his biggest nightmares: between flashbacks of the worst of times during the second rising, or dreams of him waking up only to realize that none of his life had happened, and he was still locked under the cupboard.

"I know love, but this isn't then. Don't forget his letter, it sounded like he really needed to talk to you."

Nodding, Harry remembered the day that he'd awoken to a knock at his door, and a postal serviceman handing him a certified letter. The process had been so unfamiliar to him that the mailman had to walk him through signing for a registered letter, and only after he had done all that had he been given the letter. Knowing that it couldn't have been from anyone that he knew personally, those letters came by owl, and that it definitely wasn't fan or ministry mail, Harry had cautiously walked inside with the letter and stood in his living room, looking at Ginny, who had been getting Lily ready for the day while James and Albus had been tending to themselves. Ripping open the package, he was shocked to see the name on the return address.

Dudley & Kara Dursley

Ginny must have noticed the look on his face, cause she had left Lily to the care of her brothers to come over and look at why he was just staring at an unopened letter.

"Dudley…isn't that the name of that wanker of a cousin of yours who tormented you growing up?"

His only response had been to nod and continue staring. His mind had been racing trying to figure out why Dudley, of all people, had written him.

"Well, are you going to open it?"

"I don't know."

"It's not going to bite you know. Not like it's Tom's Diary, or The Half-Blood Princes potions book."

Harry finally looked away from the letter and gave his wife a blank stare.

"Far from it, the Dursleys are the least magical humans on the entire planet. At least, from what I remember of them; I've kind of tried to block the whole experience out, you know?"

She nodded, knowing that his childhood was something that he almost never talked about. Sure, they had discussed what had happened to him growing up, apprehension over the birth of James had caused him to spill his guts one night while venting his fears about parenting. Since then though, he was mum on the subject as ever, just wanting to gloss over that portion of his life for happier times.

"Well then, open it. Who's Kara by the way?"

"I haven't the foggiest."

At her behest, Harry had turned over the letter and ripped open the seal that held it closed. Pulling open the letter, a piece of paper unceremoniously fell out and almost hit the floor, but due to Ginny's quick wand work it made itself back up to her hand while Harry prepared to read the letter, going over to his couch and sitting down, Ginny following while staring at the paper.

It read:

 _Harry,_

 _I've tried to start this letter a thousand times, and each time it's come out wrong. There are so many things that I want to say to you, but I have no idea how to put them into context in this letter, and honestly I wouldn't feel right saying them in a letter to begin with. I know you and I never got on well due to me being an awful git to you since the day you showed up at our house, but hopefully you're a much better man than the child I was then._

 _Something has happened, my wife and I have no clue how to handle it, and I didn't know who else to turn to. I know I have no right to ask it, but if you could find it in you to meet with my wife and I it would mean the world. Please know that I don't mean to barge into your life, and that if it weren't for the extenuating circumstances, I would have remained silent and let you live your life without having to remember me, or the time you spent with my excuse for a family. If you could let me know what would be an acceptable meeting place, both Kara and I will be waiting for you._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Dudley Dursley._

"So what did it say?" Harry was dumbfounded for a moment after looking at the letter and turned to Ginny, handing her the letter and watching her eyes pour over it, in exchange she handed him the piece of paper that had fallen from the letter and he took a look at it. It was a picture, and in it was pictured a happy little family; Harry would have been lying to say that he recognized the people present in the picture at all though. When last he had seen Dudley, he had been a top-heavy boy with slightly orgerish features, and a tendency to droll his eyes a little, adding to that fact that Harry had believed Dudley incapable of an intelligent thought. The man smiling back at him from out of the picture was a complete one-eighty from the boy he had known. More similar to an equal build now with messier hair and a, dare he say, kind smile on his face, Dudley had his arms around a lovely woman with blonde hair whose look astounded him. Laugh lines were etched into her smile, she was used to being happy, and her eyes were warm and compassionate, almost the complete opposite of his Aunt Petunia down to the last. Although it was neither Dudley, nor his surprising wife that caught his attention, it was the pair of emerald green eyes that stared out at him from the picture, piercing him and holding him in place. He'd only known two others with those same eyes, and looking up he spotted Albus consequently looking at him.

His mothers' eyes stared at him through the picture of Dudley's family, and it nearly froze Harry's mind to think about it. Neither Petunia nor Dudley had gotten that specific trait, and from what he could remember from the pictures in his aunts house, neither of his maternal grandparents had that particular shade of green. The boy in the picture looked out at him, shyly; as if unsure about why the picture was being taken, and slight smile grace his face, and the warm acknowledgement of both of his parents' hands being on either shoulder in the picture suggested that it was only his trust in them that had kept him there. Like both of his parents, he had blond hair and unlike Dudley when he was younger a slim build, as if something was draining him from the inside…

"I thought you said that your cousin could barely read?"

Harry looked up, pulled away from staring at the picture, at his mothers' eyes and looked at Ginny not registering the comment.

"I'm sorry?"

"You're cousin, you had me under the impression that he could barely read, but this letter is very decently composed, and it was definitely written by him, although he also has significantly better handwriting and spelling capabilities than you let on."

Agreeing, Harry took the letter back and reread it word for word, trying to puzzle why Dudley would need him. Looking back at the picture, he stared back up at Ginny.

"I think I'm going to have to meet him," Her eyes met his for a moment, and the momentary puzzlement prompted him to continue. "Dudley isn't—or wasn't I should say, a person who would have ever felt the need to contact me ever again. In the twenty years since the last time we saw them, I've never once had any sort of contact with them, or they with me. It must be something serious if he's decided to break that silence now."

Ginny silently agreed, and Harry had quickly responded with a time, and the only place he could think of where they could meet.

Standing in front of the door now, he never thought he would have retuned to #4 Privet Drive, but here he was of his own volition. Reaching out just as the clock stuck five, Harry rang the doorbell to the home of his youth, and stole one last glimpse at his wife before turning back to the door and waiting.

Although it took a moment longer than it normally would have, Harry soon heard footsteps walking to the door, and as it opened, expected any number of things, however what he hadn't been expecting was the woman from the picture to open the door with he same kind smile and welcoming eyes that she had worn in the picture.

"Mr. Potter?" Her uncertainty at who he was confused him for a moment before he understood: the Dursleys had never once kept a photo of him handy, which also meant that she had probably never seen him before.

Nodding, Harry motioned to Ginny.

"Uh, Yes. Harry is fine, and this is my wife Ginny." The two women nodded at one another as they were still standing in the doorway before Kara stepped aside and welcomed them into the house. A small part of Harry wondered if he would feel any of the magical residues that had been left by Dumbledore's spell cast all those years ago. Closing the door behind them, Kara motioned them to follow her.

"Thank you both for coming," She said shyly, leading the both of them towards the living room, although Harry could have walked the path there in his sleep. Ginny purposely had stayed to his right as they were walking, and while they passed the stairs, she made it a point to shove him past that particular point before his eyes could begin to wonder there, although some part of his mentally took note of the door.

As they continued to walk forward, Harry mentally prepared himself to see his cousin as they stepped through the arch that led to his cousin.

—

Dudley heard when Kara answered the door, and traces of his cousin's voice drifted back to him from behind the doors that led to this portion of the house. He could already feel his heart rate increasing, and mentally had made a note of how much of a bad idea meeting at this particular house had been, however it was even grounds, so to speak—the last time Dudley and Harry had met here, they had shaken hands, and Dudley felt that he could at least rely on that memory a little before meeting his cousin again.

The footsteps were walking towards him now, and Dudley turned towards the door to the living room, noting as Kara walked in that she had a nervous smile on her face. She was just as nervous as he was, not surprising though, since she had almost no idea what to expect from his cousin, although from memory, Dudley had every idea of what to expect. Directly behind Kara, Dudley took a small intake of breath as, for the first time in twenty years his eyes fell on his cousin.

The piercing green eyes that he'd seen stare up at him from the cradle of a young boy merged with the eyes now in front of him, and Dudley was taken aback. He had forgotten that his cousin had those colored eyes, and so it was almost quizzical to him now to have the eyes he normally relegated to his son staring at him from the adult face of his cousin.

Kara came and stood by him wrapping her arms around his, with a slight little tug. He could tell she was excitedly nervous that he had actually shown up, and Dudley wished that he could actually share her enthusiasm. He was both happy and yet a deep feeling of guilt was washing over him as his cousin had stepped through the door. Dudley had almost missed the beautiful red haired woman that was standing at his cousin's side, and felt terrible for never knowing that his cousin had married.

In the back of his mind, Dudley was cursing himself for not being forward thinking enough to wonder if his cousin had ever gotten married, had kids, what he did for a living now. He knew nothing about him.

Almost at a loss for how to start, Dudley felt his heart racing for second. Kara turned to him and whispered in his ear, "Say something…" so silently that Dudley was sure that no one else had heard, but he knew that it had been pretty obvious that Kara was nudging him to speak.

Clearing his throat he spoke up,

"Thank you for coming Harry…I'm sorry for contacting you after all this time."

Trying to find some way to start the conversation, Dudley finally centered on Kara.

"This is my wife, "

"Kara, yes—Ginny and myself recognized her from the picture you sent us with your letter." Hearing him speak for the first time in years was something else, his voice hadn't gotten deeper, but it had definitely matured over time. Dudley wasn't sure if he should make a motion to shake hands with Harry or not, and was stuck in a stand still, until his wife nudged him a bit more.

"Ginny? It's a pleasure to meet you, Dudley and I had no idea that you had gotten married Mr. Potter." Kara was saving him more than she should have to. The room felt stuffy, and the nerves were beginning to rack up.

"Just Harry, please."

"Alright, Harry." Kara once again leaned to whisper into his ears, "Sweetheart, the letter…" Bringing his right hand up to pat his wife's shoulder, this time Dudley watched as Ginny whispered into Harry's ear, and for the first time both of their eyes locked onto the letter that was being held in Dudley's hand.

"Dudley, is that a letter from Hogwarts?" The stark confusion in Harry's voice and with the look on his face spurred Dudley to finally speak.

"Yes, it is—I,"

"Why do you have a letter from Hogwarts? Did someone from the faculty contact you about something relating to me, or?"

Dudley froze, unable to quite process everything. If he remembered correctly, Harry was famous in the Wizarding world, and that did seem like a logical conclusion, but al he could do in response to Harry's question was hold the letter out to Harry. For a moment, the space between the two felt like an infinite distance that seemed insurmountable, and a pseudo space that was barely even present. Harry didn't hesitate as he walked forward and reached out grasping the letter that was in Dudley's hand. No sooner than he brought it up to read the addressee, a look of complete understanding crossed across Harry's face.

"The young boy in the picture, is he Evan Dursley?" Dudley nodded as Harry seemed prime to open up the letter, but before doing so, he looked up at both Himself and Kara, "Do you mind?" Dudley shook his head no, along with Kara as both of them watched as Harry opened the letter. Apparently, standing while doing so no longer seemed appealing, because from what seemed like nowhere, a chair appeared and Harry sat down. Dudley felt the slight shock that hit Kara as she watched the chair materialize out of thin air it seemed, placed his hand on her arm reassuring her.

In this time Ginny had walked over to Harry, and was looking over his shoulder, though she turned her attention to them after doing so.

"Would the two of you like a place to sit as well? Harry sometimes forgets his manners when it comes to transfiguring a chair out of thin air it seems."

Kara turned towards Dudley and shrugged. She was taking this much better than he had the first time he had experienced a wizard. Together they watched as Ginny, with what Dudley was sure was slowed motioned pulled out her wand and waved at the area behind them, a love seat sofa seemed to form out of the fireplace and appear behind them in a flash, and as the both of them sat, Ginny also made one for herself to sit beside Harry with.

"Is it what I think it is?" Ginny's question to Harry was answered with a nod, and then, aloud Harry began to read:

"Dear Mr. Dursley,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours Sincerely,

Professor Minerva McGonagall,

Headmistress"

Dudley listened to the letter read aloud that he'd already memorized from the moment that the owl had dropped it at his doorstep. He'd remembered very well the situation that they had originally had gone through with Harry's letter, and so he was very careful to make sure that Evan had been the one to receive the letter, and that he was the first to open and read it, although stark confusion had been in those emerald eyes while he had read aloud the letter that Harry had just finished.

Now another set of emerald eyes seemed to be staring at Dudley with just as much confusion…but there was something else in those eyes, hurt?—or stark horror. With sudden realization, Dudley came to the conclusion of how all of this must seem, gripping his wife's hand, Dudley watched as Harry stood up from his chair and ran to the Cupboard under the stair case, and with a wave of the wand that Dudley never saw him draw, watched the door blast from that point. The visual look of relief that passed over Harry was more than noticeable and Kara could only look at Dudley in askance as Harry walked back over to where they were.

"It's not like that Harry…"

"If you don't mind then, please enlighten me. Forgive me for being a little harsh, but experience tells me that little boys who receive that letter in this family home are usually found under that staircase."

Dudley flinched as Harry said it, and noticed that Kara was still looking at him in askance, while Ginny put a hand out to settle his cousin.

"Dudley, what's he talking about?" Turning so he could face Kara, and grabbing both of her hands, Dudley released a sigh, and a slightly haggard voice escaped him as he explained,

"The room upstairs was the room that Harry was moved to after he returned from his first year at Hogwarts—" The name still tripped in his mouth, and still sounded unnatural with him saying it. He could tell that both his cousin and his wife noticed this.

"Before that, both my parents and I had forced him to…" His voice failed him as Kara's eyes drifted to the cupboard under the staircase and realization hit her, Dudley watched the avalanche of understanding come crashing down on her and watched as his wife's heart completely shattered. In her mind he was sure she was seeing a young blond boy with emerald eyes being forced to live inside of that cupboard, along with being treated the way that Dudley had described to her. He then watched as those images transposed in her head to looking at Harry and realizing that he was that young boy, and her hand came up to her mouth and he watched as her eyes watered up.

With the urgings of his wife, Harry had managed to take a seat, but his eyes were still on Dudley, waiting for an explanation, but before he could speak up, Kara's voice broke through,

"God no, it's not like that, I swear. I could never—would never let anyone do that to my son!"

—

Harry's heart had stopped beating inside his chest, and had only recently restarted with the tears and emotion coming from Kara. For one brief moment, he had been horrified and frightened that he was going to blast open that cupboard to see the young boy he'd seen in the picture with his mothers eyes, in it, staying silent and acting as if he didn't exist. Ginny's hand on him had calmed him down, and he watched as Kara tried to compose herself, and as a look of…complete and total shame was on Dudley's face.

Turning to look at Ginny, Harry noticed that she looked relieved as well. She was one of the few people entirely aware of what Harry had gone through in this house, and knew that it would have crushed him to know that a member of his family was going through the same torment and Harry would have had no clue about it.

Harry watched as Dudley attempted to comfort his wife, but noticed there was a slight hesitation on her side receiving it.

"Mrs. Dursley," The name felt weird in his mouth, the only Mrs. Dursley he had ever known had been his aunt Petunia, and Harry had known he would never see her again. "I'm sorry for making those assumptions of you, it's just—"

"It's just that you have every right to assume that I would do the same thing to my son that my father, that I had done to you." Harry noticed that Dudley was in what looked to be internal agony watching his wife refuse to let him comfort her, and the memory of a broken teacup, and a handshake the last time that they had seen one another came to mind. Harry could remember thinking that maybe that teacup had been a peace offering on Dudley's side, and now was thinking that maybe it had been just that—although a horrible attempt, it had been an attempt.

The whispered "Mufflatio," that came from Ginny as she pointed in the direction of Kara and Dudley didn't go unmissed by Harry, all the while, he looked back at his wife.

"I think you've misjudged the situation a little Harry." Looking into his wife's eyes, he nodded a little, and motioned for her to continue, not trusting his voice at the moment, happy to see that Dudley and Kara were still preoccupied with one another, and didn't notice that the two of them were obviously speaking words that they couldn't hear.

"Maybe your cousin's situation isn't what you assume it is right now. Although he had you in his family, which is probably why they received a letter instead of a Hogwarts official visit, you yourself said that the Dursleys were completely closed off to even hearing the slightest about your life and Hogwarts. Imagine if this were a muggle who's just learned that their child is a witch or wizard, but they thought they knew someone that could help them decide what to do. Remember that your venture into our world cost them their home and safety, even if they never truly understood why, they did understand that."

Harry had a hard time nodding his head. Ginny was brilliant for realizing this, and steeling himself, he released the spell that Ginny had cast just in time to see that the Dursleys were finally compiling themselves enough to notice them once again.

"I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot here Dudley." His cousin agreed nonverbally, his wife also nodding her head yes as her eyes begged for Harry to believe that this was the truth. Taking in a breath, Harry looked around again and looked down at his hand, the letter from Hogwarts addressed to a one Mr. Evan Dursley.

"Ginny, do you think you could?" With a wave of her wand, a coffee table appeared in the middle of the two couples, already prepared with settings for both coffee and tea. Harry noticed that Kara jumped at the random appearance of this, and almost blushed for forgetting that Kara was a muggle who had probably never experienced such…advanced and obvious magic before.

"Sorry about that, I'm honestly no longer used to being around muggles—that's,"

"'Non gifted humans', yes. Dudley's mentioned before that Muggle was the word used."

Harry nodded, although a little shocked by two things: one was the fact that Dudley had remembered the word Muggle, and two the particular way that Kara had phrased that. Normally a person would say 'Non magical folk', but she instead had called them gifted, quoting not herself, but Dudley.

"Yes, exactly. Ginny and I live in a Wizarding community in a place called Godric's Hallow in West Country, most everyone who lives there is a witch or Wizard and so the need to be guarded about how we use our magic is something that isn't exactly necessary."

Harry said all of this as he prepped himself a cup of tea and grabbed himself two biscuits. He was happy to see that Kara was able to easily acclimate herself to eating and drinking snacks that had magically appeared before her, and that Dudley was seemingly doing so just as effortlessly.

"So you made the drive here from there?"

Harry couldn't help but smile at the assumption, along with Ginny, who covered hers by taking a drink of her tea.

"Not exactly."

The light blush that graced Kara's features was telling Harry they she knew she was missing something very obvious. Dudley shifted in his chair. Harry knew that the Dursleys had been apparated to their safe house, and so he was aware that Dudley had more of an idea of how wizards and witches got around.

"We have an ability that we're able to perform called Apparating, it allows us to think of a place, and through the use of our magic to be there."

Nodding her head, Dudley's wife was the picture of poise as she was doing her best to take in everything as it came. Looking down at the letter that he had placed down on the table, Harry noticed that Dudley's eyes hadn't left it.

"About Evan…how long have you known?"

Dudley picked his head up from staring at the letter and met Harry's eyes for a moment, before closing his eyes.

"I noticed when he was five years old, or I suspected when he was five, but didn't confirm it until he was six. One day I couldn't find him, and I was in panic looking all over the house, until I went outside and found that he was up on the roof. When he saw me, he jumped from the roof, and I panicked over not being in time to catch him, but instead of falling, he floated down safely into my arms."

Harry was nodding his head as Dudley told his story. That was one of the random acts of magic that occurred when a child was young that was a marker of a Wizard or Witch at a young age.

"When I realized what he was, it was also the year that I stopped visiting my parents. They moved in with my aunt and got the house whenever she passed away. Dad's never liked Kara because she didn't fit his idea of a perfectly 'normal' family, and because of that, mum followed suit I guess."

"So your parent's don't know?"

"Mum has no clue, and dad never will. He passed five years ago, which is how I ended up with this place." Harry nodded, and felt only a passing feeling for the knowledge that his uncle was gone.

"How have you managed Aunt Petunia not finding out about Evan? I'm pretty sure she would remember the markers of a young wizard just as much as you probably have."

Dudley nodded and looked out of the window.

"I haven't seen my mum in five years Harry…not since Evan began showing the signs of being a Wizard. I—"

"Didn't want him to end up like me?"

Dudley's slow nod was all that Harry could take when it came to that situation, although he wondered what Dudley would say if he ever learned that Petunia's hatred of all things magical came from a strong sense of jealousy towards her sister, so much so that even in death, Petunia still begrudged her sister.

"So where is the he now then?"

"He's with a friend of ours. He's able to control most of his abilities now, enough not to use them too much around others who wouldn't be able to understand what he is."

Ginny's hand gripped his, and she prodded him along to get to the heart of the reason.

"So your letter to me, it was about Evan—but why?"

Harry watched as Kara fidgeted with her blond tresses, a nervous trait he was sure. Dudley looked from him to Ginny before he spoke.

"I know nothing about your world, I wouldn't even know where to begin to get any of this stuff, and even if I had the slightest idea, I don't know that Evan would want me to accompany him to do it. I've made no secret of you with him, not about who you are, and not about the way that we treated you."

Harry remembered his day stepping through the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron, and from there to Diagon Alley. If Hagrid hadn't been there to guide him through all of it, there was no way that he would have been able to navigate getting all of his supplies, not to mention that fact that Dudley probably didn't have a single Galleon to his name. It was no surprise that Dudley had written to him, if Harry had been in his shoes, he would have done the same thing.

"Can I meet him?"

"We would love to have him meet you." Harry nodded to Kara and stood, Ginny standing with him.

"Alright,…" He had a nephew…one with his mothers' eyes. Although He was aware of the fact that he of course had family with Ginny, the knowledge that time and an unlikely source had provided with him another set of those piercing green eyes set his mind ablaze. What kind of child was he?

"Thank you Harry." There was a mild form of shock that came from hearing Dudley Dursley of all people say those words. Throughout all of his youth, he could never remember him saying those words to him—not even jesting.

The silence seemed to linger on from that point, Harry had no idea had to respond. He'd dealt with defeating the most powerful dark wizard in recent history, and yet he had no response for his childhood bully who had just thanked him. Who's son was the very thing he had bullied when he was younger.

"So obviously the two of you don't live here, where do you live?" Ginny's question broke the silence like a drop of water falling into a still pond; Harry shared a small smile for saving him from the awkward situation.

"We have a small place in London, it helps to live near the inner city due to the kind of work both Dudley and I do." At that Harry's head peaked up.

"What kind of work are the two of you involved in?"

Kara smiled as she thought on her job, and Harry could tell that she loved whatever it was that she did.

"I'm a pediatric psychologist with a specialization in helping troubled teens reintegrate into society after they've dealt with or faced traumatic experiences. Dudley is a councilor much in the same field, except he's taken to counseling young men who've landed in state funded penitentiaries due to making bad or misinformed choices. He also works with the police department in helping find and profile cases where the children or spouses are going through domestic abuse."

Ginny's response to what Kara had just said was to turn to Harry with a look that said, 'What?'. Harry in turn looked back with a look of slight shock.

"Is everything okay?" Kara for sure noticed more than she had let on, and as Harry started thinking of it, was wondering how much of everything that she had honestly caught that had passed between he and Ginny, between him and Dudley.

"Everything is fine, you'll have to forgive my wife—just like there are things in my world that you have no clue about, there are positions and things in your world that most witches and wizards have no clue about. Psychologist are one of them, usually when they're brought up, our world will refer to them as 'head doctors' with a vague sense of only the mildest understanding of what a psychologist actually is."

A quizzical look passed over Kara's face.

"The entire idea of psychology is foreign?"

"Pretty much."

"Well, that's…interesting."

At a shove from Ginny, Harry gave her a weak smile and turned to face his wife.

"The two of them help people by knowing about the mind and the way we think. They notice emotional triggers and can build a mental bridge of the thought progression that a person has that allows them to diagnose that person with a specific mental condition and to help them eventually break past, or make manageable what they're going through. Think about it as a ligilimens using their ability to help a person recover from shock, or to help ease the memories…"

Unbidden, nights came back to Harry. Nights when Ginny had woken up screaming during the first few months living with one another. Every now and again, it would still happen that he would still wake up in a cold sweat, or he would be back home living normally, and for some reason his pulse would quicken and he would feel as if everything around him was closing in. Mad-eye leapt into his mind at this, and he remembered the paranoid wizard.

Ginny nodded her head slowly in understanding, in Harry's head he could see the pieces clicking together for her, while Kara and Dudley were now the ones that seemed lost.

"A fairly good explanation, although now I'm curious. What's a ligilimens?"

Harry smiled; there was a whole world for them to know about.

" A very particular branch of magic—a very basic and slight misrepresentation of it would be mind reading, although it's not so much that."

"You can read minds?"

"Yes, but don't worry, Legilimancy is a very unique type of magic, and it requires the user to be staring into a persons eyes directly in order for it to work. Also, in our world it's considered a bit of a taboo since a person's mind is their last refuge—often times practitioners of this branch of magic are heavily disciplined with how they use it." Reassuring them that he hadn't invaded their minds was something that Harry wanted to do right away. Even with normal wizards, finding out the he could use legilimency was always unnerving for them.

"Ah."

"And what do you do in the Wizarding World Harry?"

"Harry is the head of the Auror office at the Ministry of Magic." Ginny beat him to it before he could say it, and then followed up with, "Basically he's in charge of a type of Wizarding police that specialize in the containment, capture, and patrol of dark witches and wizards."

Both Dudley and Kara looked impressed at Harry, and he couldn't help it when the blush came to his cheeks. At least they didn't know the whole legend. It was embarrassing enough that Ginny had splurged that much.

"That sounds a lot cooler than it actually is."

"So basically you're like a police chief?"

Harry nodded at Dudley's question and then motioned to Ginny,

"And my lovely wife here is a retired professional Quidditch player for the Holyhead Harpies. She now acts as a part time correspondence for the Daily Prophet, and takes care of our three kids."

"That sounds lovely, although I have no earthly clue what Quidditch is."

Harry smiled again.

"It's a sport in our world."

With that, everything seemed to die down, and Harry sat wondering where they should go from here. Getting up from the chair he was in, Harry picked up the letter from the table and took one last look at it. They had only a few days before the deadline for the response and Harry knew that they had a big choice to make.

"So, they two of you and Evan have a big decision to make. Hogwarts is a wonderful school, and a place that meant so much to me when I was there, and still means a lot to me even though I no longer attend. It's a fantastic place to teach Evan how to control his magic, and the safest place for him to learn to do so in a controlled environment. Is this something that the two of you want to pursue?"

The two of them nodded their heads in unison, and Harry was surprised at the rush of relief and happiness that flooded through him at this.

"Awesome, I'll send an Owl to the Headmistress letting her know to expect Evan. In the meantime, I plan on taking my family to Diagon Alley in the next two weeks—my youngest daughter Lily is about to start her first year as well, while my two other boys, Albus and James are continuing on in their education there. You're more than welcome to join us, if you'd like. There's a lot to be done for Evan, like setting up an account at Gringotts, we don't use muggle money in the Wizarding world, and making sure that Evan gets all his supplies and of course his Wand."

—

The amount or pressure that was taken off of Dudley's chest as Harry offered his help and invited them to this Diagon Alley to go with his family felt like a mountain had moved off of Dudley's chest for the first time in six years.

Standing like Harry was, Dudley looked at the man before him, and for a moment say a glimmer of the boy he used to be. As Harry held out his hand for Dudley to shake, Dudley had a slight glimmer of a memory of a sixteen year old Potter in this very room making the same motion and saying goodbye with this. Now older and hopefully smarter, Dudley took Harry's hand in both of this and shook it firmly, choking back most of the emotions he was feeling at the moment, but trying to convey everything he had trouble putting into words in front of his cousin into this one motion. He hoped Harry understood it to be a hello.

His life had been a rollercoaster of trying to find who he was in comparison to who his parents were. Who he should be in the face of who his son is, and who he had been in reference to what his cousin had been. Looking up into the green eyes that his son shared, Dudley hoped that Harry could see that in this moment, he was being as true to himself as he could possibly be. And maybe that could lead to his son being able to do the same thing.

"Thank you, Harry."

* * *

 **And this brings us the end of this story. I wrote it intending it to be a one shot, but I could easily add Harry meeting Evan, and their trip to Diagon Alley although I liked this stopping point. If you folks would be interested in reading more of this story, you're more than welcome to let me know so in the comments. for now I'm working on another Harry Potter story that came to me while I was working. It's going to be significantly longer than this short story was, and I plan on doing a ton of revamping to the universe as I go along, but I think it'll be loads of fun. Either way, hope you guys enjoyed. Thanks for giving me your time, and as always:**

 **I remain ever faithfully yours,**

 **Divinitas Intereo**


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